Category: Podcasts

Jet is already being courted by Walmart as it looks to beef up its online distribution model. With 12m lines already, Jet is looking to attack Amazon’s seeming dominance of the online market by offering household goods at cost price. Customers are rewarded with further reductions for buying in bulk.

So how does Jet make its money?

Via a yearly subscription of course – $50 per year. Not a lot in of itself but potentially huge if it gains mass take up. Whatsapp showed us the power of subscription models with its $1 dollar annual fee (pre Facebook days) – not wholly exciting until it reached 200m+ users and therefore a tidy $200m per year. Also, more recently, Dollar Shave Club?

I am a huge fan of subscription models. Think monthly Saas subscription business models; membership plans, continuity programs etc. A recurring income flow. Predictable revenues with no receivables to chase. Highly attractive to prospective purchasers if you are looking to build a company to exit.

Have a think how you can add the subscription model into your business, if you haven’t already….?

SEIS (Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme) and EIS (Enterprise Investment Scheme) are tax advantaged funding options aimed at enticing angel investors to invest in early stage and fast growth private companies. They provide a great way for you to secure funding for your company.

These tax reliefs apply where you issue shares in your company in exchange for a cash investment from angel investors. The angel investors receive some downside protection from the extra risk they are taking in investing in your company compared to say a more liquid investment such as stock market investments. The downside protection is provided by way of upfront income tax relief on their investment plus a capital gains tax free exit on ultimate sale of the shares (plus there are some other potential tax reliefs). The availability of these tax reliefs are subject to the strict SEIS / EIS tax rules being adhered to by the company for the relevant qualifying period.

You can read more on SEIS / EIS and how it might apply to your company by reading the following posts:

In this wide-ranging conversation, Modwenna (Founder of Angel News) discusses her thoughts on crowdfunding, SEIS / EIS plus attracting funding from angel investors. She also gives us a sneak preview of a new online platform that might benefit entrepreneurs and founders who are seeking funding via crowdfunding platforms.

We hope you enjoy it!

It would be great if you could leave us a rating on iTunes – this helps more founders and entrepreneurs find this podcast.

Before we dive into the interview, our resource of the week is ScheduleOnce – you know those times when you’re trying to find a mutually convenient time for a meeting or call and you find yourself making suggestions and nothing quite fits in….! Well with ScheduleOnce you can email a link that provides live access to your calendar in that it suggests slots that it knows you are free. I’ve been tinkering with this for a few weeks and early signs are good. Give it a try!

Please get interactive with us on Twitter and leave your feedback in iTunes.

Diving into the interview with Richard Harrison we discuss the following:

Useful Resource of the Week

Our resource of the week is Rapportive – a useful Gmail extension that brings your social media connections, such as Linkedin, directly into your inbox. It is a good way of keeping in touch with existing contacts and for reaching out to potential new connections…

Guest: Modwenna Rees-Mogg: Angel News | CrowdRating

In this conversation, we cover how Modwenna made the transition from corporate financier to entrepreneur and founded Angel News which brings thought-leadership and insights into the field of private company investment – aimed at both investors and entrepreneurs.

Seeking your input

If you are a UK entrepreneur and would like to share your story, please get in touch as above. Also, if you are involved in advising entrepreneurs on building scalable businesses, we would be delighted to hear from you and to get you involved if you’re the right fit.

Before we dive into this insightful interview on launching a product business via Kickstarter, we should introduce the aims and objectives of the Fast Growth Business podcast.

Fast Growth Business Podcast – Objectives

Fast Growth Business is aimed at UK entrepreneurs and founders seeking to start up a new business with the aim of scaling to exit fast – aka a fast growth business. We’ll aim to share interviews and tips from entrepreneurs plus advice and strategies from professionals such as VCs, lawyers, accountants etc with a focus on:

Get interactive!

Enough about us, this podcast is all about you and we want you to be as interactive as possible with your views, questions and feedback – reach out via Twitter to @iptaxsolutions and / or use the hashtag #fgbpodcast so that we can round up your tweets and perhaps give you a shout out on the podcast if you too are a fast growth UK business!

Business info tip of the day

Today we explain how you can access all UK company information e.g. annual financial accounts, free of charge. This information has been available for a while via the Companies House website; however, it has been a ‘paid for’ service. Now under a new release, users can access all of this information for free.

This can be especially useful for accessing information on customers, suppliers and / or competitors.

His approach to finding the right people and specialists to help him build his team is summarised plus Richard explains how the Kickstarter launch process helps focus the entrepreneur’s mind on the most important factors and how it helps ensure that momentum is maintained. Richard also explains the added benefits of crowdfunding in terms of testing product viability and building a following of fans.

Looking for your input

If you are a UK entrepreneur and would like to share your story, please get in touch as above. Also, if you are involved in advising entrepreneurs on building scalable businesses, we would be delighted to hear from you and to get you involved if you’re the right fit.

Subscribe to receive future episodes

You can subscribe via iTunes or find us on the BusinessN2K.com network.

In this edition of the Get Funded! podcast we cover some additional tips for film production companies that may be seeking advance assurance from HM Revenue & Customs that they are a qualifying company for the purposes of raising funding under SEIS / EIS.

Further info to enclose for SEIS or EIS film company HMRC advance assurance applications includes:

As discussed in the podcast, the advance assurance procedure is not mandatory although it is highly recommended. This is your opportunity to get HMRC’s approval that your company is a qualifying company for the purposes of raising funding and issuing shares under SEIS / EIS. Most sophisticated investors will insist on evidence of a successful advance assurance application. This is your chance to flush out any uncertainties – don’t miss it! Listen to the podcast via the player below to learn more.

You can find the HMRC SEIS / EIS advance assurance online form mentioned in the podcast here.

Don’t forget that the typical turnaround time is 4-6 weeks for HMRC to respond to your advance assurance application. To avoid unnecessary delays, you would be well advised to get all your shareholder documents (including Articles with any revisions in contemplation of SEIS / EIS investors) finalised prior to filing the application. This is because HMRC will normally want to see the documents in as final form as possible. Otherwise you run the risk that HMRC will issue a ‘partial’ advance assurance in that they will ask for sight of the final version of (say) the Articles if further revisions are envisaged – so you would have to go through the process again. Tune into the podcast via the player below to learn more.

Please subscribe at iTunes to ensure that you can pick up past and future episodes. Also, we’d be thrilled if you could leave a review on iTunes.